Tradition and Enthusiasm Make HK Ideal
Equestrian fans will be heading to Hong Kong for the 2008 Olympics, host city of the event's horse racing competitions. "No city has ever prepared for the Olympic program in such a short time, it is really difficult," said Kim Mak, Executive Director of Corporate Development for the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Challenge
It has been two years since Hong Kong was picked as the site for the Olympic equestrian event, in July 2005. Shortly after the decision was made by the International Olympic Committee, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), Hong Kong set up the Equestrian Events (Hong Kong) of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Co. Ltd. (the Equestrian Co.), to run its Olympic organizing. Operation of the company has been under the supervision of a committee, composed of officials from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the BOCOG and the FEI.
About 1 billion Hong Kong dollars were needed for the construction of a racetrack and other special facilities at Sha Tin Racecourse, the main site of the Olympic event. The tight schedule and huge investment were a challenge but one that Hong Kong, with its tradition of horse racing dating back more than 100 years, has been able to meet so far.
"The Olympic expenditure won't be a problem for Hong Kong at all," said Timothy Tsun-Ting Fok, President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong prefers to use the market instead of a government budget to run its sport fairs. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, a non-profit organization, providing horse racing, sporting and betting entertainment, is the biggest sponsor of the coming Olympic equestrian contest. But one club is not enough. The city is trying to collect money through business and social donations. On June 8, the Equestrian Co. carried out a sponsorship program to encourage more businessmen in Hong Kong to support the event.
"The program provides an opportunity for members of Hong Kong's business community to join in the Olympic event with Beijing, under the policy of ‘one country, two systems,'" said Lam Woon-kwong, Chief Executive Officer of the Equestrian Co.
Lam said cooperation from different areas of society has enhanced confidence in the coming Olympics.
While construction of the racecourse is not yet complete, Hong Kong was highly commended by visiting officials from the International Olympic Committee and FEI for its outstanding work in preparing for the equestrian games last year.
Hong Kong will hold a test-run equestrian competition, with more than 20 competitors, equal to one 10th of the players that will take part in the Olympic Games, on August 11-13, 2007.
Health care
The suggestion to move the Olympic equestrian competition to Hong Kong initially encountered opposition from the FEI, members of which were worried that the three-hour flight from host city Beijing may alienate horse racing from the Games.
However, agreement was finally reached, largely due to Hong Kong's highly qualified horse raising skills and the city's long equestrian history.
Horse racing is the only contest in the Olympic Games in which people team up with an animal. The FEI requires a high standard of health care for horses taking part in the event, which are worth millions of yuan each. This posed an obstacle for Beijing, as the city's equestrian facilities are below an international standard.
Usually, a host city needs to set up a quarantine zone, within 35 square km of which animals like horses, pigs, cows and goats are prohibited.
In the beginning, the BOCOG wanted to stage the equestrian events in the suburban Shunyi District, but the area lacked facilities. Once that option was deemed unsuitable, organizers began to look at Hong Kong.
Except for a short outbreak of herpes infecting 132 horses in the city from last February to April, the city's racehorses have been free of epidemic diseases for decades.
According to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the herpes epidemic will not impact the test equestrian competition to be held in August. Horses affected by the original epidemic have all recovered, it said.
Hong Kong is well prepared to cope if there is a disease outbreak, with a number of laboratories approved by the FEI, that were used for re-testing assignments during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Those tests were conducted under video camera surveillance in case of cheating. The Hong Kong laboratories carry out around 17, 000 tests a year, and in 36 years, there have been no incorrect diagnoses made. There are also veterinary stations in the Sha Tin Racecourse, the main site of the coming Olympic equestrian contest.
With modern facilities and advanced health care techniques for horses, Hong Kong distinguishes itself as a prominent equestrian cultural zone. Horse race betting is everywhere in Hong Kong, and equestrian analysis is printed in almost every newspaper. One third of Hong Kong's population are horse racing fans.
This year has witnessed a doubling in the number of jockeys in Hong Kong compared with last year, to 3,000.
People's zeal is not focused on horse racing alone. There is also increasing excitement over the Olympic Games. "Besides promoting Olympic spirit and athleticism, the Olympic Games also bring Hong Kong people closer to their motherland," said Fok.
For the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China, the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong held programs designed to bring local people closer to the mainland, and reactions have been unexpectedly enthusiastic. More than 10,000 applicants competed for 1,800 voluntary vacancies for the coming equestrian test competition as well as the Olympic Games. Nine out of 10 of them were local residents.
"Hong Kong people hope to hold an excellent Olympic equestrian competition to charm the world," said Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. "We expect an unprecedented equestrian contest in line with Beijing's Olympic theme ‘One World, One Dream.'"
Golf course
Enthusiasm for the Games has not blocked rational decision-making. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government decided to use the existing Sha Tin Racecourse as the main site for equestrian events under the suggestion of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. There are also neighboring clubs, horsemanship schools and a golf course that will be used for the Games.
It seems a little crazy to build a 6-km racetrack on a golf course, and still keep the course in normal operation, but Hong Kong people have their own innovative ideas. The racetrack, built under the path of the course driving range, brought little disturbance to the daily games of golf.
The Olympic equestrian site aims to retain the natural scenery around Sha Tin Racecourse. According to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, 51 trees have been cut down during construction and 500 have been planted.
The site will be equipped with 19,000 seats, but all of them will be removed after the Games to restore the area's original tranquility.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government requires the project to be completed before March next year when there is seasonal breeding for a number of egrets settling in the central park located in Sha Tin Racecourse.
